FORT MYERS, FL- Six different players scored and 12 players recorded a point as the FGCU Eagles (11-3-2) blistered the Webber International Warriors (4-9-0) by a count of 8-0 Monday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex in their final non-conference tune-up of the regular season.
"Rarely do you get as many opportunities as we did tonight" head coach
Jim Blankenship said. "Our kids capitalized on a lot of those chances and I am pleased with the results. We set the tone early and executed throughout the night."
As expected, it didn't take long for the scoring to get going for the Eagles. Just 3:39 into things,
Evdokia Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio) took a pass from
Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, FL/Oasis HS) and rocketed it past the keeper to give FGCU a 1-0 lead.
FGCU ripped shot after shot at the Warrior net, but didn't get another one past the keeper until the 32nd minute when
Morgan Hawes (Coconut Creek, FL/North Broward Prep) and
Emilee Olsen (Frekhaug, Norway/Tertnes VGS) knifed through the defense before crossing a ball through the box to find
Tori Dorr (Vero Beach, FL/Vero Beach HS) on the doorstep for her first goal of the season to make it 2-0.
The Eagles made it a 3-0 game as
Kara Kyramarios (Titusville, FL/Titusville HS) found Hawes on a short free kick for her first goal of the year right before the half to give FGCU the three goal cushion into the break.
The halftime numbers were staggering as FGCU outshot Webber 23-0 including nine shots on goal while drawing all 10 first half corner kicks.
The second half began just about as the first did as a long pass into the attacking third from
Brianna Hatfield (Godfrey, IL/Alton HS) found Abbondandolo, who touched it onto Popadinova who tucked her shot under the crossbar for her league leading 13th goal of the year to make it 4-0.
Just five minutes later, is was Abbondandolo's turn to get in the scoring column as
Silvana Gordon (Medford, NJ/Shawnee HS) played a long ball in and with the keeper coming out, Abbondandolo won a 50/50 ball for an easy tap in to stretch the lead to 5-0.
In the 66th minute the Eagles made it a 6-0 game when
Shay Jackson (Parkville, MO/Park Hill South HS) threaded a ball through the box for
Holly Fritz (Cape Coral, FL/Mariner HS/Florida State) who scored a beautiful sliding goal for her sixth of the year.
Ashlee Brentlinger (Middletown, DE/Padua Academy) scored her first goal as an Eagle in the 75th minute when she collected a deflection in the box and stuck it in the bottom 90 to make it a 7-0 FGCU lead.
The Eagles final blow came just two minutes later as
Syniah Clark (Cape Coral, FL/Ida Baker HS) and Olsen teamed up to push the ball up the field before Olsen found Hawes on a cross for her second goal of the night to make it 8-0.
FGCU called off the attack for the final 14 minutes, possessing the ball in the midfield until the final horn blew in an 8-0 win, their 11th of the year.
Many of the Eagles totals in the win finished third in the all-time single game record book. Their 38 shots, 10 assists, and 26 points on the night were all third while their eight goals in the victory were fourth most, tying their total against Webber from a year ago.
FGCU will wrap up their 2018 regular season on Saturday at home in The Nest when they host Stetson on Senior Night at 7 PM.
ASUN STANDINGS
| School |
Pts |
ASUN |
Overall |
Remaining Games |
| 1. NJIT |
15 |
5-2-0 |
11-4-1 |
vs. North Alabama (Sun.) |
| Kennesaw St. |
15 |
5-2-0 |
12-4-1 |
vs. Lipscomb (Sun.) |
| Lipscomb |
15 |
5-1-0 |
10-4-2 |
vs. North Alabama (Thurs.) @ Kennesaw St. (Sun.) |
| 4. FGCU |
12 |
4-3-0 |
11-3-2 |
vs. Stetson (Sat.) |
| 5. North Alabama |
9 |
3-3-0 |
9-7-0 |
@ Lipscomb (Thur.) @ NJIT (Sun.) |
| Liberty |
9 |
3-3-0 |
4-10-0 |
vs. Jacksonville (Fri.), vs. North Florida (Sun.) |
| 7. North Florida |
7 |
2-4-1 |
7-7-1 |
@ Liberty (Sun.) |
| 8. Stetson |
4 |
1-5-1 |
4-9-3 |
@ FGCU (Sat.) |
| 9. Jacksonville |
3 |
1-6-0 |
1-13-1 |
@ Liberty (Fri.) |
FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the women's soccer team on Twitter @FGCU_WSoccer, on Instagram @FGCU_WSoccer or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUWSoccer. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.
COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP
A veteran of over two decades in collegiate coaching, head coach Jim Blankenship, who was named the ASUN Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the ASUN Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just 11 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to 11 double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN Tournament titles and became the first team in the history of the university to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles went on to win the 2014 ASUN Tournament and hosted the first NCAA Championship event on campus. The Eagles earned their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance with the 2015 ASUN Tournament Championship and won their first NCAA game at USF in 2015 while finishing 24th in the nation. In 2016, the Eagles made it three-consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament with a third-straight ASUN Tournament title. A year later, the Eagles became the first ASUN women's soccer program to make four-straight NCAA Tournaments with another tournament title in 2017. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 154-54-23 (71.5 W%) overall record through the first 12 seasons of the program's existence, including a 75-14-14 (79.6 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 394-125-34 (74.3 W%) over 26 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
